TANNER OF THE WEEK: Gina Casey

When Pam Grant took the reins from legendary field hockey coach Lorraine Benoit this season, captain Gina Casey and her fellow seniors weren’t quite sure what to expect.

They needn’t have worried. The Tanners owned a 7-2-3 record through games of Oct. 12 and are on the verge of state tournament qualification. And Casey, the traffic cop at midfield, has been crucial to the team’s success.

“Gina is a very hard worker. She is a quiet leader but her work ethic and strong field play speaks for itself,” said Grant.

Casey – whose first goal of the season snapped Beverly’s season-opening scoreless streak – acknowledged it initially felt strange not having Benoit around.

“I was used to her from freshman year. When Coach Grant became head coach, the seniors didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t know how she coached or much about her, but she proved to fulfill the expectations we had by being a great coach. The transition has been great and fun-filled,” Casey said.

Like Benoit, Grant stresses teamwork and making smart decisions in game situations. Additionally, she focuses on individual stick work and conditioning. Casey does her part by taking the responsibilities of her captaincy seriously and working hard to create an inclusive atmosphere.

“There is a lot of responsibility to make sure there are no conflicts between players and that everyone gets along. I have witnessed in past years that a conflict between two people can affect the entire team’s performance. This year all the girls are awesome and our team is like one big family, which helps us to play as a team,” she said.

On the field, Casey says mobility, passing and flicking are her strongest assets. She said she needs to improve on dodging her opponents earlier and looking up before making a pass.

“To be a successful midfielder it’s important to be able to hustle up and down the field because that position is responsible for both offense and defense. Being able to interpret opponents’ moves also helps, as well as being able to dodge and having strong hits,” she said.

Off the field, Casey is a member of the National Honor Society and ranks fourth in her class.

“I do all school work as soon as I get home from practice and if there is a game, I bring it with me to do on the field during the JV game. I try not to procrastinate on assignments that are given days in advance. I like to get things done as soon as they are assigned,” she said.

She is understandably excited about the prospect of qualifying for post-season play, one of the team goals set at the start of the season.

“When we make tourney, our goal is to make it past the first round. Our other goal is to make it to the top of the standing in our division [of the NEC],” she said.

Casey has not yet decided where she will attend college but hopes to continue playing field hockey. All of the schools she’s looking at – Northeastern, UConn, URI and the Mass. College of Pharmacy among them – have programs at either the NCAA Division One or club levels.